


Measure of a Man

by flkeysgal98



Category: Emergency!
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-04-17 15:42:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14192319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flkeysgal98/pseuds/flkeysgal98
Summary: After a tradgedy, Emily Stanley contemplates what truly measures a man.





	Measure of a Man

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place during the first few chapters of my story Someone to Watch Over Me. You will want to read that first. This story is based on the Clay Aiken song Measure of a Man. All lyrics are in italics.

She found him in the den, asleep at his desk, dried tears staining his cheeks. The pain of the loss of one of his men had been eating at him for weeks; she could see it in his eyes, the window to his soul. As much as she hated to even think about it, he was still with her, and she thanked god for that everyday.

_If one day you discover him, broken down, he's lost everything. No cars, no fancy clothes to make him who he's not. The woman at his side is all that he's got._

Her heart ached painfully for the man whose life was lost. He had proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he loved what he did by giving the ultimate sacrifice. They had been close to losing both men in that fire, and she knew if that had happened, her husband would’ve never recovered.

_Why do you ask him, move heaven and earth, to prove his love has worth?_

Emily pulled a chair up and sat down beside her husband. He didn’t stir as she slid her arm in the crook of his arm, resting her head on his shoulder. Everything had been done to save one of their own, of that she was sure of. They were the bravest men she had the privilege of knowing.

_Would he walk on water, would he run through fire, would he stand before you, when its down to the wire, would he give his life up, to be all he can? Is that, is that, is that how you measure a man?_

In their line of work, some people never appreciate what the guys did, the extent of their love for others. The man who died had a young family, his wife knowing what it meant to be a fireman's wife. The kids were taking it as well as they could, having their father ripped from their young lives. But she knew they would never let that family forget the love he had for them and the appreciation for the sacrifice he made.

_If by chance all he had to give you, was three words wrapped around your finger, would that be deep enough at the end of everyday?_

Emily was confident JoAnne would be able to stand strong and, with help from everyone at the station, be able to move forward in her life. Roy’s love for his JoAnne would stay with her for the rest of her life.

She sighed, lifting her head from Hank’s shoulder. Emily loved her husband so much, she always had and she knew nothing would ever change that.

_He never gives up, lets go of his dream, his world goes around for his one true belief._

Now that Roy was gone, Emily knew her husband just might not be the same; none of them would. But the Hank Stanley she knew and married would never give up.

She felt him stir slightly. She wiped the tears out from his eyes as they began to sting hers. She knew he had tough times ahead, but he was strong. That was the true measure of a man.


End file.
